David Wright: Time to Shea goodbye

The Mets star will leave the only home field he has known

Obviously, I have a lot of great memories of Shea Stadium -- on the field as well as in the clubhouse with the guys -- so it's going to be sad when we finally move on after this season. But we also have a beautiful new stadium rising up right next to it.

Among the special memories I have at Shea are my first game and playing my first playoff series. Those are two that stick out in my mind. Those were also two of the most exciting times I've ever spent in any stadium.

It's always fun to play in a new park, though. A lot of teams have gone into newer, upgraded stadiums recently. There are a lot of beautiful parks around the league, and I think Citi Field will be right up there with the best of them.

I see it from the outside, becoming a little more complete every day, and I've taken a couple of tours of it. It looks beautiful. I've watched the progress on a daily basis. It seems like they've really taken their time and put a lot of resources into it.

They seem to want to get it just right, which is perfect. It's going to have tremendous character.

From a workplace standpoint, players spend so much time in the clubhouse that a great new clubhouse with modern amenities will be very welcome. It will be nice to have an underground hitting cage nearby, as well as a state-of-the-art weight room.

Those are the things that are important to a player. We don't need too much, but we like to have a nice playing surface and a comfortable environment. We'll have those things at Citi Field and, hopefully, we will go over there and continue to win.

It's an exciting time for baseball in New York. The Yankees are building their new Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, too. It's like we're ending two important chapters in the city's baseball history and beginning two new ones.

The Mets are celebrating Shea Stadium in its 44th and final season. Third baseman David Wright has called Shea home for all five of his big league seasons since making his Major League debut at Shea Stadium on on July 21, 2004, against Montreal.

This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.